On the 15th of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys…
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.
--Horton Hears a Who (1954), Dr. Seuss
Here are three original souvenir drawings of Horton the elephant by Dr. Seuss. The images come from auctions at Christie's, Illustration House, and Heritage Auctions, respectively. We start with an image that recalls the first Horton book, Horton Hatches the Egg (1940). In fact, it's pretty close to a mirror image of the book's cover illustration:
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Theodore S. Giesel/Dr. Seuss (American, 1904-1991)
Horton the elephant
signed 'Dr. Seuss' (lower right)
coloured chalks, unframed 14 x 11½ in. (35.5 x 29.3 cm.) Price Realized
£4,375
Sale Information
Sale 5316 Lot 88
18 December 2008
London, South KensingtonSpecial Notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
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A delightful drawing was sold at Illustration House some years ago.
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| Dr. Seuss, Horton, Illustration House |
This final sketch, below, from Heritage, seems to me to be the weakest, with a very loosely-rendered trunk, scant shading on the ears, and an ear flap edge that rather sloppily joins the corner of the mouth instead of approaching the chin fold as it does in the previous renderings.
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| Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch |
In fact, one could argue that this is a poor copy of the Horton Hears a Who! cover
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| Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch signature |
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| Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch framed |
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| Back of Horton sketch frame |
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| Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch item description |
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| First edition of Horton Hears a Who! and a later edition of Horton Hatches the Egg |
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